Display case for foods

ABSTRACT

Display case ( 10 ) for foods comprising a display compartment ( 12 ) for a plurality of transparent containers ( 14 ) arranged inside a perimeter containing barrier ( 25 ) made with transparent panels ( 26   a,    26   b ); the display compartment ( 12 ) is defined by a lower base ( 17 ), by a transparent upper covering element ( 19 ), by a transparent front wall ( 20 ) and by two sides ( 21 ) that extend below the display plane of the containers ( 14 ) and are transparent so that the display compartment ( 12 ) and the containers ( 14 ) can be observed also from above and from a lateral position.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns a display case for foods, that is, apiece of furniture provided with a heat conditioned display compartment,closed at least partly by glass walls and used in public premises suchas bars, ice-cream shops, cake shops, restaurants or suchlike, in orderto display, preserve and sell foods.

The invention is advantageously but not exclusively employed to displayand preserve ice cream contained in tubs.

In the following description we shall therefore refer mainly to thisspecific application, although the invention can also be used for othertypes of foods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Refrigerated display cases used in ice-cream shops and bars to display,preserve and sell ice cream are known. Such display cases usuallycomprise, in the lower part, a technical compartment, which houses atleast some components of the refrigeration unit, and, in the upper part,a display compartment, which has at least the front wall transparent andinside which a plurality of tubs containing ice cream are contained.

The tubs rest on a supporting frame and, in some embodiments, are closedon the perimeter by a containing barrier which defines the area withinwhich the refrigerated air circulates inside the display compartment.

Generally speaking, in known display cases the display compartment isvisible to the user only through the front wall and only partly throughthe sides, which have an opaque part developing as far as above thedisplay plane; the visibility of the products is thus limited andconditioned by the arrangement of the tubs inside the compartment.

Moreover, since the tubs and the supporting frame are mainly made ofstainless steel, or anyway of opaque material, the part of the displaycompartment that is below the supporting frame, including the lowerportion of the tubs, remains hidden, so that the only visible part ofthe ice cream is the surface part. Furthermore, the containing barrieris made of panels that are opaque and/or supported by opaque profileswhich therefore further limit the visibility of the tubs.

This lack of visibility of the product can cause uncertainty andsuspicion in the user, both concerning the nature and state ofpreservation of the ice cream contained in the tubs, and-also concerningthe general conditions of hygiene and cleanliness of the displaycompartment and the tubs as far as the non-visible part is concerned.

One purpose of the present invention is to achieve a display case forfoods, preferentially but not exclusively of the refrigerated type, todisplay and preserve ice cream, which will allow an ample and completevisibility of the display compartment, allowing users to observe moreeasily the foods contained therein.

Another purpose of the invention is to achieve a display case for foodswhich allows the user to evaluate the hygienic conditions and the stateof preservation of the foods, also facilitating the sales assistants incontrolling the cleanliness of the display compartment.

Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention inorder to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art, to obtainthese purposes and to achieve other advantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is set forth and characterized in the main claims,while the dependent claims describe other innovative characteristics ofthe invention.

The display case according to the invention comprises a displaycompartment defined by a lower base, by a possible rear door for accessby the sales assistant, by an upper covering element, by two sides andby a front wall.

According to a characteristic feature of the present invention, apartfrom the front wall, the sides and the upper covering element of thedisplay compartment are also transparent, so that the displaycompartment can be illuminated more efficiently and also so that userscan better observe the containers, not only from the front, but alsofrom above and from the side s of the display case. The transparentsides develop in height at least below the display plane of thecontainers.

According to the invention, the containers are arranged inside aperimeter containing barrier which develops at the front and laterallyon the periphery of the display compartment and has the function ofdefining the area wherein the refrigerated air circulates.

Said perimeter containing barrier is defined by transparent panels,front and side, for example double glazed, supported by profiles whichare also advantageously transparent. The presence of said containingbarrier, made with completely transparent elements, combined with thewide transparent surface of the sides, does not compromise thevisibility of the containers located inside, unlike what happens inconventional-type refrigerated display cases.

According to another characteristic feature of the invention, thecontainers for foods located inside the display compartment aretransparent. In a preferential embodiment, the containers rest onsupport means that are also transparent which keep them suspended insidethe display compartment.

In one embodiment of the invention, the display case is of therefrigerated type and the containers consist of tubs to display andpreserve ice cream, which rest with their upper edges on relativesupport means.

The fact that the containers and the relative support means aretransparent makes the food product inside the containers completelyvisible, even in depth, both for the user and for the sales assistant.It also allows to see both the lower portion of the containers, and alsothe part of the display compartment located below the relative supportmeans, allowing to better evaluate their conditions of hygiene.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other characteristics of the present invention will becomeclear from the following description of a preferential form ofembodiment, given as a non-restrictive example, with reference to theattached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional view of a display case for foods accordingto the invention;

FIG. 2 is a lateral view, partly in section, of a display case for foodsaccording to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERENTIAL FORM OF EMBODIMENT OF THEINVENTION

With reference to the attached figures, the number 10 denotes a displaycase for foods according to the invention, in this case of therefrigerated type, used to display, preserve and sell ice cream. Thedisplay case 10 comprises at the lower part a technical compartment 11,which houses the devices of the refrigeration plant (not shown), and atthe upper part a display compartment 12 inside which the tubs 14containing the ice cream are arranged.

Between the technical compartment 11 and the display compartment 12there is an exchange compartment 13 where the flow of refrigerated airis produced, then conveyed towards the tubs 14. The technicalcompartment 11 and the exchange compartment 13 are defined by respectivebodies 15 and 16, of an opaque type, provided with suitable inspectionapertures and advantageously insulated.

The display compartment 12, on the contrary, is defined by a lower base17, a rear door 18, an upper covering profile 19, a front wall 20 andtwo sides 21.

The lower base 17 is opaque, so as to hide the equipment contained inthe exchange compartment 13, while the rear door 18, through which thesales assistant can access the tubs 14, and the front wall 20 are madeof glass, plastic or other transparent material, in order to allow, onone side, the sales assistant and, on the other side, the user to seethe display compartment 12. Advantageously, the upper covering profile19 is also made of transparent material, so as to allow a wider view ofthe display compartment 12.

This embodiment allows all the tubs 14 to be seen from above also by auser of great height who is standing near the display case 10; the factthat the upper covering profile 19 is transparent also allows to exploitthe natural light, and that of the artificial lights of the premiseswhere the display case 10 is installed, in order to illuminate thedisplay compartment 12 better, and hence the ice cream.

According to the invention, moreover, the tubs 14 are transparent andare kept in suspension by a supporting frame 22, also made entirely oftransparent material.

The supporting frame 22 consists of uprights 23, on which the upperedges of the tubs 14 rest, and of spacer profiles 24, arranged betweenone tub 14 and another; the transparency of the supporting frame 22 andof the spacer profiles 24, unlike in conventional display cases, doesnot limit the visibility of the tubs 14 from the front and side. Thetransparency of the supporting frame 22 and the tubs 14 therefore allowsboth the user and the sales assistant to see substantially the wholecontent of the tubs 14 and also to see the lower part of the displaycompartment 12, since there is no obstacle to the view, except for theice cream contained in the tubs 14.

The sides 21 extend below the display plane of the tubs 14 and are madeof transparent material, so as to make the display compartment 12visible from a lateral position too.

Moreover, the supporting frame 22 and the tubs 14 are arranged inside aperimeter containing barrier 25 made of double glazed panels, a frontpanel 26 a and side panels 26 b, with advantageously transparentprofiles 27.

The perimeter containing barrier 25 is open at the upper part andextends, for a determinate height, along the sides and front of thedisplay compartment 12; its function is to keep the flow of refrigeratedair, as much as possible, near the tubs 14.

Thanks to the transparency of the double glazed panels 26 a, 26 b and ofthe relative profiles 27, the tubs 14 are visible not only from above,but also from the front and the sides, even though they are inside theperimeter containing barrier 25.

It is clear, however, that modifications and/or additions of parts canbe made to the display case 10 for foods as described heretofore,without departing from the field and scope of the present invention.

For example, the exchange compartment 13 and/or the perimeter containingbarrier 25 could be omitted, and the display case 10 could be equippedwith a different conditioning system, or be used to display and preservefoods at ambient temperature. Moreover, neither the shape of the displaycase nor the number and arrangement of the tubs 14 are restrictive forthe purposes of the invention.

It is also clear that, although the present invention has been describedwith reference to specific examples, a person of skill in the art shallcertainly be able to achieve many other equivalent forms of display casefor foods, all of which shall come within the field and scope of thepresent invention.

1. Display case of the horizontal type for foods, particularly for icecream and similar contained in containers (14) such as tubs, comprisingat least a containment and display compartment (12) containing aplurality of said containers (14) arranged on at least a front row,adjacent to each other and the upper surface of which defines at least adisplay plane which extends along the front of said containment anddisplay compartment (12), said containment and display compartment (12)being defined by a lower base (17), by an upper covering element, by twosides (21) and by a transparent front wall (20), characterized in thatsaid front wall (20) extends below the display plane of said containers(14) which is located lower inside said containment and displaycompartment (12) so that the front side of said containers (14) can alsobe observed.
 2. Display case as in claim 1, characterized in that saidsides (21) extend below the display plane of said containers (14) whichis located lower inside said containment and display compartment (12),and are totally transparent so that said containment and displaycompartment (12) can also be observed from a lateral position. 3.Display case as in claim 1, comprising at least a front containingbarrier (25) defining an area for the circulation of conditioned air andinside which said containers (14) are arranged, characterized in thatsaid front containing barrier (25) is defined by at least a fronttransparent panel (26 a).
 4. Display case as in claim 3, characterizedin that said barrier also includes transparent lateral panels (26 b). 5.Display case as in claim 3 or 4, characterized in that said panels (26a, 26 b) are double glazed.
 6. Display case as in claim 3 or 4,characterized in that said panels (26 a, 26 b) are supported bytransparent profiles (27).
 7. Display case of the horizontal type forfoods, particularly for ice cream and similar contained in containers(14) such as tubs, comprising at least a containment and displaycompartment (12) containing a plurality of said containers (14) arrangedon at least a front row, adjacent to each other and substantiallyco-planar, the upper part of said containers (14) defining at least adisplay plane which extends along said containment and displaycompartment (12), said containment and display compartment (12) beingdefined at the lower part by a lower base (17), at the upper part by anupper covering element, laterally by two at least partly transparentsides (21) and at the upper part by a transparent front wall (20) sothat the user can see, characterized in that said upper covering element(19) is transparent so that said containment and display compartment(12) can be observed from above.
 8. Display case of the horizontal typefor foods, particularly for ice cream and similar contained incontainers (14) such as tubs, comprising at least a containment anddisplay compartment (12) containing a plurality of said containers (14)arranged on at least a front row, adjacent to each other andsubstantially co-planar, the upper part of said containers (14) definingat least a display plane which extends along said containment anddisplay compartment (12), said containers (14) resting on support meansable to keep them suspended, characterized in that said support means(22) are transparent, so that both the part of said containment anddisplay compartment (12) below said support means (22), and also thelower portion of said containers (14), are visible from the outside. 9.Display case as in claim 8, characterized in that said containers (14)are of the transparent type, so that said foods are visible throughthem.
 10. Display case as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized inthat it is of the refrigerated type to display and preserve ice cream incontainers consisting of tubs (14).
 11. Display case as in claims 8 and10, characterized in that said support means (22) comprise a pluralityof uprights (23), on which the upper edges of said tubs (14) rest, andspacer profiles (24) located between said tubs (14).